The visual language is all I’ve ever known. When words fail to express what needs to be, I have always found myself turning to art as a means to communicate. My art practice continues to develop with each new experience, but the themes continually surround language and community.
Formed at the intersection of social and physical environments is community. I explore moments when people shape their environment–both social and physical– while simultaneously being shaped and influenced themselves. The parallel developments of communities and the people within them often yield complex and layered narratives. With a focus on Black identity, experience and existence, my artwork draws on the photos, stories, and memories of those in my life. Shifting between two-dimensional and three-dimensional, I utilize a variety of materials and mediums (i.e. wood, paints, paper, etc.) to interrogate the intersection between choice and circumstance.
For This Moment, 2024
Facilitated by an old professor of mine, I had the pleasure to travel to travel to Ghana, Africa for 10 days. My role was to accompany an 80 year old folk artist, Nellie Ashford. Together Nellie and I visited Accra, Winneba and surrounding towns and villages on Ghana’s coast.
Our experience was extremely special and we were both compelled to create artwork after our return. Below are pieces I included in our group exhibition.
Project P.A.I.R. (Paid Artist Intensive Residency)
My first artist residency, Project P.A.I.R., was organized by SouthEnd Arts and held at the McColl Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.
A two-month, mentor-mentee intensive paired me with Doris Kapner, an established, Charlotte artist. Together we explored a variety of mediums, but I spent most of my time in the McColl Center’s print studio. Project PAIR program was started in order to create pathways in achieving artist self-sufficiency for diverse, historically-excluded local artists. This program is designed to offer opportunities to beginning artists in the professional dedication required for an art career.
Public Art
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Ubound, 2023
With a generous donation to renovate the gymnasium, a project funded by Steph and Ayesha Curry Foundation, Summit Coffee and Under Armor, money was set aside to commission a local artist for a mural. Design and creation of the mural was made in partnership with Belle Mckissick-Stalley.
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Fields of Discovery, 2022
A collaborative mural made with the students attending Ada Jenkins Center in the LEARNworks afterscool program. The middle school students decided on the design and younger students added flowers using sponges.
COLLISIONS OF INADMISSIBLE FANTASIES, 2022
My first solo-exhibition was held in the Smith Gallery at Davidson College in February of 2022.
The exhibit features a variety of pieces from throughout my academic career. Collisions of Inadmissible Fantasies is all about acknowledging the disparities between the Black experience (which has a host of complexities and nuances) and how blackness is depicted in media. The title, Collisions of Inadmissible Fantasies, is a quote from James Baldwin’s “The Devil Finds Works” where he discusses the disconnection between representation of Black people and the lived experiences of Black people. These disparities manifest in several ways; education, healthcare, and media.
Although Collisions of Inadmissible Fantasies has closed, you can view the virtual tour here. Learn more about the exhibition by listening to the artist talk included below or viewing it on YouTube here.
